JUST WATCHED

Lindsey Vonn's bid to race men

MUST WATCH

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Injury is an occupational hazard of skiing. But for American Lindsey Vonn the road to recovery from a serious injury has been a long and painful one......

Hide Caption

1 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Vonn had to be airlifted off the slopes at this year's World Championships back in February after a horrific knee injury, which led to a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Hide Caption

2 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Vonn's rehabilitation was overseen by both Red Bull and the U.S. Ski Team, a case of a slowly-slowly approach to make sure no further damage was done to the joint.

Hide Caption

3 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Her return to action was in Chile's Andes Mountains where she insisted her damaged knee felt as good as her unaffected left knee, and that she felt absolutely no fear.

Hide Caption

4 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Vonn's attempted return to competitive skiing has come under heightened scrutiny because of her relationship with the world's No.1 ranked golfer Tiger Woods.

Hide Caption

5 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Chemmy Alcott's last accident on the slopes happened the day after Vonn's at Schlamding, Austria. In all, the British skier has now broken her leg on three occasions.

Hide Caption

6 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – That fall was just two months after her heroic return to World Cup skiing in Lake Louise on the same course where she had crashed. She insists she does not remember the crash that nearly ended her career.

Hide Caption

7 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Both Vonn and Alcott both have the same goal in their respective rehabilitation programs, to get back in action and at the top of their game in time for next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Hide Caption

8 of 9

Photos:From the sidelines back to the slopes

From the sidelines back to the slopes – Not all skiers have come back from the physical and mental scars of their crashes. Austria's Hans Grugger suffered a serious head injury in 2011 but, rather than return, opted to retire from the sport.

Hide Caption

9 of 9

She finished her run in one minute 59.22 seconds -- more than three seconds off the leading time and 40th overall.

The start of the race had been delayed by hazy cloud and extremely cold temperatures which dropped as low as -36 Celsius. Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch eventually came out on top with the quickest time.

Vonn is racing against time to find form and fitness as she attempts to defend her downhill crown at February's Winter Olympics in the Russian resort of Sochi.

There she will aim to emulate the feat of fellow American, Picabo Street, who came back the season after reconstructive surgery to win gold at Nagano in 1998.

Vonn, who is dating golfer Tiger Woods, is a four-time overall World Cup champion and has won two world championship golds in a glittering career on the slopes.